This proposal seeks funding for a Research Symposium, "Hear Our Voices: New Mechanisms in Auditory Discrimination and Speech in Deafness", at the Biennial International AG Bell convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 29, 2008. AG Bell has presented five research symposia funded with support from NIH and NIDCD: Biotechnology and the Cochlea (2000), Human Genome Project and Hearing Loss (2001), The Role of Audition in Spoken Language Development (2002), From Cochlea to Cortex Understanding Auditory Dysfunction (2004) and, Improved Rehabilitation of Hearing Loss and Deafness (2006). Each symposium was organized to appeal to an audience of consumers and professionals with an interest in hearing loss but not necessarily a professionally based scientific background. Drawing over 1700 participants including parents, professionals who work with hearing impaired children (particularly teachers) and adults with hearing loss on each occasion, the 2004 and 2006 symposia were two of the most highly-rated and attended education sessions at the biennial conventions. Based upon informational requests from our membership and working in conjunction with Dr. Peter Steyger we believe the proposed theme of Hear Our Voices: New Mechanisms in Auditory Discrimination and Speech in Deafness will be another successful topic, and one that further facilitates the ultimate goal of improving communication between biomedical researchers and individuals who benefit from their efforts. As in past symposia, speakers will each present and individually answer questions from the audience of approximately 2000 people. After the concluding speaker has presented, a moderated question and answer session with all the speakers on a panel will be conducted, in response to the popularity of previous research symposia's question and answer sessions. Products associated with the Research Symposium will include a bi-lingual brochure announcing the symposium for dissemination beyond AG Bell's members (the conference will be highly publicized in all AG Bell periodicals), a bilingual proceedings document with summaries of each speaker's remarks, captioned videos and real-time captioning of the presentations. Specific Aim: Based upon informational requests from our membership and working in conjunction with Dr. Peter Steyger we believe the proposed theme of Hear Our Voices: New Mechanisms in Auditory Discrimination and Speech in Deafness will be another successful topic, and one that further facilitates the ultimate goal of improving communication between biomedical researchers and individuals who benefit from their efforts. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]